Yearning for a Plethora of Hugs

Plethora is one of my favourite words and I use it often. It’s about time I explored its origins, but to do that here on the blog I need an illustration. Luckily the plethora of teddies in my home decided to help me out on that front by gathering on the reading chair in my kitchen and posing, ready to deliver hugs.

A plethora of hugs from Teddy Central

Hug deliveries have been in short supply over the last year, for obvious reasons, and every time I read somebody online missing an aspect of their life such as a round of golf, browsing in bookshops, or traveling I only have one thought – hugs. I need a plethora of hugs from friends and family and even a chair-full of fluffy teddies isn’t a good substitute.

What is a plethora anyhow? It’s an abundance or profusion. You could have a plethora of cocktails, firemen, balls of yarn, or bluebells in a dappled woodland. It’s such a handy word. You can even use plethoric as an adjective, but it’s not common.

Plethora joined the English language in the mid 1500s as a medical term for an excess of body fluid or blood which might be indicated by swelling or a red complexion. It arrived via Late Latin (same spelling and use) and ultimately from Greek plethore (fullness) and plethein (to be full). The non-medical use of plethora to denote too much or overfulness arrived by 1700 and has been with us ever since.

Until next time happy reading, writing, and a plethora of wordfooling,

Grace (@Wordfoolery)